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The World's Best Lightweight Sports Cars

The horsepower wars are over! Sort of. The war may still rage on, but Mercedes Benz has gracefully bowed out. MB's performance division AMG released a statement yesterday that says they are now going to focus on a lower emissions strategy for all future models and pursue technologies that can improve performance by optimizing engines and reducing curb weight. Right. These are the same dudes who made 500hp station wagons.

Truthfully, as long as their models still rip around tracks faster than Yung Bergs manager running from the cops, we'll be happy. In anticipation of MB's first lightweight, fuel sipping models, we compiled a list of our favorite lightweight sports cars. Whatever they build has to be at least on par with these. If not, they should be back to making 500hp family cars. Check out the best of the best below...

• Car: Caterham Superlight R500 2.0L• Made of: Carbon fiber and fiber glass.• Power: 263hp• Weight: 1,115 lbs• Price: $55,585• Claim to fame: Track monster. Top Gear's 2008 Car of the Year. Caterham claims their cars are made for the track but can be driven on the daily. Right. Unless you live in SoCal and don't mind driving an inch from the ground and feeling every crack in the road, this ain't a daily driver.

• Car: Ariel Atom• Made of: Bronze welded steel tubing and non-structural composite panels• Power: 300hp• Weight:1,400 lbs• Price: $65,000• Claim to fame: Besides scaring the shit of Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson, the Atom is the purest sports car on the road. No roof, no doors, just four wheels, a little carbon fiber and 300 hp.

• Car: KTM X-Bow • Made of: Carbon fiber• Power: 240 hp• Weight: 1543 lbs• Price: $65,000• Claim to fame: Austrian motorcycle company KTM's Audi powered roadster moves as viciously as it looks. It's made for the sole purpose of going as fast on corners as it does on straight-a-ways. There may be no windshield, but it does have Ferrari performance for 1/2 price.

• Car: Lotus Elise • Made of: Fiberglass and Aluminum• Power: 189hp• Weight: 1984 lbs• Price: $47,250• Claim to fame: When it comes to lightweight sport cars that you can take to the track and then to the store, Lotus sets the bar. If you're around Jermaine Dupri's height, you can even use it as a daily driver.

• Car:Noble M400 • Made of: Fiberglass• Power: 425 hp• Weight: 2337• Price: $89,000• Claim to fame: This British sports car got its name from its power to weight ratio of 400hp/ton. Beast mode. Lucky for us, an American company scooped up the rights to build the M400. So if you got the ducats, head here for your Rossion Q1.